Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Red Star Belgrade All-Time Team

This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for the club. The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.

Red Star Belgrade are the only Serbian and ex-Yugoslav club to have won the European Cup, having done so in 1991, and the only team from Eastern Europe to have won the Intercontinental Cup, also in 1991. Red Star was the most successful club in former Yugoslavia and finished as first in the Yugoslav First League all-time table, and is the most successful club in Serbia.Please see also Red Star Belgrade vs AC Milan in 1988.

2016 Superliga

TeamGK: Vladimir Beara (Yugoslavia) He played on three World Cups; 1950, 1954 and 1958. He was considered one of the greatest keepers from the Warsaw Pact. With Hajduk Split (1946–55), he won the Yugoslav league title in 1950, 1952 and 1955. In
1955, he moved to Belgrade's Red Star (1955–60), where he won even more
Yugoslav league titles, in 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, and won the Yugoslav
Cup in 1958 and 1959. He was Red Star's goalkeeper against Manchester
United in the last game United had played before the Munich Air
Disaster. Beara ended his career in German clubs Alemannia Aachen (1960–62) and Viktoria Köln (1963–64).

GK: Srđan Mrkušić(Yugoslavia) He was capped by both the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and
Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia between 1941 and 1950. He went
to the WC Finals in 1950. He also went down in history as one of the
founders of Red Star Belgrade football club in early March 1945.GK: Stevan Stojanović (Yugoslavia)He came through Red Star's youth ranks. He quickly became a fans' favourite and was nicknamed Mali Dika ("Dika Jr.") after Red Star's goalkeeper from late seventies and early eighties, Aleksandar Stojanović (no family relationship to Dika Sr.). He was the team captain and led his team mates to Red Star's first and only European Cup title in 1990–91. He missed only one game and bailed out his team mates on many occasions during the campaign. Later he played for Belgium's Royal Antwerp.

Stevan Stojanović

RB: Vladimir Durković(Yugoslavia) He
ws capped 50 times. He went to Euro 1960, where Yugoslavia finished
second. Then, he won the Olymouc Gold the same summer. In 1962, he
went to the WC Finals and reached the semifinal. He played with Red Star Belgrade until he was 28 and moved to Saint Etienne.RB: Branko Stanković (Yugoslavia) He
was best remembered for his career with Red Star Belgrade, where he won
4 league titles and established himself as one of the best defender in
Yugoslavian football history. He played in both 1950 and 1954 World Cup
Finals.

He
helped Steaua become the first Eastern European club to win the
European Cup in 1985–86. He was an ethnic Serb and in 1988, he
deflected to Yugoslavia. He joined Red Star Belgrade and helped them
winning the 1990-1991 European Cup, the second time an Eastern European
side to win the European Cup.CB/LB: Ilija NajdoskiHe played for Red Star Belgrade and was part of their European Cup victory in 1991. He also played in Spain for Real Valladolid in Spain's La Liga and Denizlispor in Turkey's Super Lig.

CB: Nemanja VidicHe spent 9 seasons as the starting center-back at Manchester United from 2006 and 2014, where he won every major trophy and established himself as one of the best center-backs of his generation. He also played for Red Star Belgrade and Spartak Moscow. He went to the WC Finals in 2006 and 2010.

Nemanja Vidic

CB/LB: Sinisa MihajlovicHe
was capped 63 times between 1991 and 2003. He was one of the best
defender in Serie , notably played for Roma, Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter
Milan. He was part of the golden generation of Yugoslav players who won the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship in Chile.LB: Slobodan Marović (Yugoslavia) Born in Bar, SR Montenegro, during his playing career he played for NK Osijek, IFK Norrköping, and Silkeborg IF. With Red Star Belgrade, he was part of their European Cup victory in 1991. He earned four caps for the Yugoslavia national football team.CM/DM: Jovan Aćimović (Yugoslavia)Known for his career with Red Star Belgrade, he played for Yugoslavia national team for 55 matches(3 goals), and was a participant at the 1974 FIFA World Cup, and at UEFA Euro 1968 and UEFA Euro 1976.CM: Vladica Popović (Yugoslavia)Popović started playing at local side Jedinstvo but his talent was spotted while he was still very young and giants Red Star Begrade brough him to their youth team where he will later play for more than a decade becoming team captain and also regular member of the Yugoslav national team. He also played for Stuttgart and Stuttgart Kickers.CM: Vladimir JugovicHe was a member of Red Star Belgrade that won the European Cup in 1990. He won another one with Juventus in 1996. He played at Euro 2000 and the World Cup 1998 for Yugoslavia. He was capped 41 times.

Vladimir Jugovic

LW: Bora Kostić(Yugoslavia) He is the all-time leading scorer Red
Star Belgrade, During his club career he played for Red Star Belgrade,
Lanerossi Vicenza and St. Louis Stars. He earned 33 caps and 26 goals
for the Yugoslavia, and participated in the 1960 European Nations' Cup.

LW: Dragan Dzajic (Serbia)Džajić
is viewed by some football experts as perhaps one of the most
underrated players in European football, partly because he played in
Yugoslavia. He is considered one of the greatest left wing in history
of the game. He played most of his career with Red Star Belgrade. He
was capped 85 times for Yugoslavia. He was voted the best player at
Euro 1968.

Dragan Dzajic

LW/FW: Bora Kostić (Yugoslavia)Kostić is regarded as one of finest Yugoslav players of his generation. During his club career he played for Red Star Belgrade, Lanerossi Vicenza and St. Louis Stars. He earned 33 caps and 26 goals for the Yugoslavia, and participated in the 1960 European Nations' Cup. Kostić remains to this day the all-time leading scorers with 158 league strikes for Red Star Belgrade.AM: Dejan Petković(Yugoslavia) After leaving Red Star Belgrade in 1995, Petkovic's career in Europe did not succeed. In 1997, he joined Vitória in Brazil. He was one of the few Europeans to play and succeed in the Brazilian league. He was considered one of the best players in Brazil during his days there. Between 2000 and 2011, he played for 7 Brazilian clubs. He was a hero for three Rio clubs. His international career, however, was limited to 7 caps.AM/CM: Vladimir Petrović (Yugoslavia) During his playing career, he mostly played for Red Star Belgrade and is one of only five Zvezdine zvezde (stars of the Star) — the legends of the club. He started out at Red Star making his debut in 1971, at the age of 16. In 1980, he was named the Yugoslav Footballer of the Year. In 1982, he moved abroad, and briefly played for Arsenal. He subsequently played for Brest and AS Nancy in France, and Royal Antwerp and Standard Liège in Belgium. In all he played 526 matches for the clubs.

Vladimir Petrović

AM: Dejan Savicevic (Montenegro)He
was a part of the Red Star Belgrade team that won the 1990–91 European
Cup before joining A.C. Milan in 1992. With Milan, he won three Serie A
titles and the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League. He represented Yugoslavia
at the 1990 and 1998 FIFA World Cups.

AM: Dragan Stojkovic (Serbia)He is
considered one of the best players in the history of Yugoslavian and
Serbian football. He starred for Yugoslavia at the 1990 FIFA World Cup
(where he was named in the World Cup All-Star Team) and 1998 FIFA World
Cup where he captained the team. He was a star player at Red Star
Belgrade, but he was playing for Marseille when Red Star Belgrade beat
Marseille in the 1990 Final of the European Cup.

Dragan Stojkovic

AM: Dragoslav Sekularac (Serbia)He
was considered one of the best player in Red Star Belgrade history. He
played in the 1958 and 1962 World Cup Finals, where his team reached
the semifinal in 1962.

Dragoslav Sekularac

FW: Dušan Savić (Yugoslavia)Savić started with Red Star Belgrade in 1974. He quickly grew into a feared striker and a fan favourite. At still only 19, he made his national team debut for Yugoslavia. He ended up playing more than 400 official matches for Red Star Belgrade. After leaving Red Star, Savić played Sporting de Gijón, Lille OSC, and AS Cannes.

ST/SS: Rajko Mitic (Yugoslavia)He was the captain of Red Star Belgrade when it was found in 1945. He was considered one of the club's greatest players. He won 59 caps (in which he was captain 34 times) for Yugoslavia, and scored 32 goals.

Rajko Mitić

ST: Zoran Filipović (Yugoslavia)Filipović made his name in Yugoslavia as a potent striker with Red Star Belgrade from 1969 to 1980. He still holds the club record for most goals in European competitions. He played abroad for Club Brugge in Belgium, S.L. Benfica and Boavista FC. On an international level, Zoran Filipović played 13 matches for the Yugoslav national team scoring 2 goals.

ST: Darko Pancev (Yugoslavia/Macedonia)He was the European Golden Boot winner in 1991 when he scored 34 goals. With Red Star Belgrade, he scored
84 goals from 91 league appearances, and winning the European Cup and
the Intercontinental Cup in 1991. He was capped 27 times for Yugoslavia
and 6 times for Macedonia.

Darko Pancev

Honorable MentionDuško Radinović, Ljubiša Spajić, Milan Jovin, Ratomir Dujković, Miroslav Pavlović, Stanislav Karasi, Kosta Tomašević, Miroslav Pavlovic, Vladislav Bogicevic, Nikola Jovanović, Miloš Šestić, , Squad Explanation-- Red Star gave away the title of the Star of Red Star (Serbian: Звездина звезда / Zvezdina zvezda) to the players that had a major impact on the club's history and have made the name of the club famous around the globe. Vladimir Petrović, Rajko Mitić, Dragan Dzajic, Dragan Stojkovic, Dragoslav Sekularac and and the entire 1991 team were officially given the title. -- Vladimir Durković and Branko Stanković are ahead of Duško Radinović.-- I am uncertain about the left back position. Milan Jovin and Slobodan Marović were the names I came up with.-- Vladimir Petrović was a legend at the club, despite his setback in England.-- And I am uncertain about Dejan Petković.-- Branko Zebec's career with Red Star Belgrade was very short.Formation